Part I The Crown Prosecution Service

Constitution and functions of Service

3 Functions of the Director.

1

The Director shall discharge his functions under this or any other enactment under the superintendence of the Attorney General.

C12

It shall be the duty of the Director F1, subject to any provisions contained in the Criminal Justice Act 1987—

C2a

to take over the conduct of all criminal proceedings, other than specified proceedings, instituted on behalf of a police force (whether by a member of that force or by any other person);

F2aa

to take over the conduct of any criminal proceedings instituted by an immigration officer (as defined for the purposes of the M1Immigration Act 1971) acting in his capacity as such an officer;

F18ab

to take over the conduct of any criminal proceedings instituted in England and Wales by the Revenue and Customs;

F14ac

to take over the conduct of any criminal proceedings instituted on behalf of the National Crime Agency;

C2b

to institute and have the conduct of criminal proceedings in any case where it appears to him that—

i

the importance or difficulty of the case makes it appropriate that proceedings should be instituted by him; or

ii

it is otherwise appropriate for proceedings to be instituted by him;

F3ba

to institute and have the conduct of any criminal proceedings in any case where the proceedings relate to the subject-matter of a report a copy of which has been sent to him under paragraph 23 or 24 of Schedule 3 to the Police Reform Act 2002 (c. 30)(reports on investigations into conduct of persons serving with the police);

F19bb

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to institute and have the conduct of any criminal proceedings in England and Wales relating to a criminal investigation by the Revenue and Customs;

F15bc

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to institute and have the conduct of any criminal proceedings relating to a criminal investigation by the National Crime Agency;

C2c

to take over the conduct of all binding over proceedings instituted on behalf of a police force (whether by a member of that force or by any other person);

C2d

to take over the conduct of all proceedings begun by summons issued under section 3 of the M2Obscene Publications Act 1959 (forfeiture of obscene articles);

e

to give, to such extent as he considers appropriate, advice to police forces on all matters relating to criminal offences;

F4ea

to have the conduct of any extradition proceedings;

eb

to give, to such extent as he considers appropriate, and to such persons as he considers appropriate, advice on any matters relating to extradition proceedings or proposed extradition proceedings;

F5ec

to give, to such extent as he considers appropriate, advice to immigration officers on matters relating to criminal offences;

F16ed

to give advice, to such extent as he considers appropriate and to such person as he considers appropriate, in relation to—

i

criminal investigations by the National Crime Agency, or

ii

criminal proceedings arising out of such investigations;

F20ee

to give, to such extent as he considers appropriate, and to such persons as he considers appropriate, advice on matters relating to—

i

a criminal investigation by the Revenue and Customs; or

ii

criminal proceedings instituted in England and Wales relating to a criminal investigation by the Revenue and Customs;

f

to appear for the prosecution, when directed by the court to do so, on any appeal under—

i

section 1 of the M3Administration of Justice Act 1960 (appeal from the High Court in criminal cases);

ii

Part I or Part II of the M4Criminal Appeal Act 1968 (appeals from the Crown Court to the criminal division of the Court of Appeal and thence to the F12Supreme Court); or

iii

section 108 of the M5Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (right of appeal to Crown Court) as it applies, by virtue of subsection (5) of section 12 of the M6Contempt of Court Act 1981, to orders made under section 12 (contempt of magistrates’ courts); F6. . .

F7fa

to have the conduct of applications for orders under F22F27Chapter 1 of Part 11 of the Sentencing Code (criminal behaviour orders made on conviction) and section 14A of the Football Spectators Act 1989 (banning orders made on conviction of certain offences);

F8faa

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to have the conduct of applications made by him for orders under section 14B of the Football Spectators Act 1989 (banning orders made on complaint);

F9fb

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to have the conduct of F28applications under section 336 of the Sentencing Code for the variation or discharge of orders made under F29Chapter 1 of Part 11 of that Code;

fc

where it appears to him appropriate to do so, to appear on any application under F23section 27 of that Act made by a person subject to an order under F24section 22 of that Act for the variation or discharge of the order.

F25fd

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F25fe

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F11ff

to discharge such duties as are conferred on him by, or in relation to, Part 5 or 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (c. 29) (civil recovery of the proceeds etc. of unlawful conduct, civil recovery investigations and disclosure orders in relation to confiscation investigations);

F30fg

to have the conduct of applications for orders under section 19 of the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 (knife crime prevention orders made on conviction);

F31fh

to have the conduct of applications for orders under section 342A of the Sentencing Code (serious violence reduction orders);

F32fi

to have the conduct of applications for orders under section 20(1)(b) of the Public Order Act 2023 (serious disruption prevention orders on conviction);

g

to discharge such other functions as may from time to time be assigned to him by the Attorney General in pursuance of this paragraph.

F102A

Subsection (2)(ea) above does not require the Director to have the conduct of any extradition proceedings in respect of a person if he has received a request not to do so and—

a

in a case where the proceedings are under Part 1 of the Extradition Act 2003, the request is made by the authority which issued the Part 1 warrant in respect of the person;

b

in a case where the proceedings are under Part 2 of that Act, the request is made on behalf of the territory to which the person’s extradition has been requested.

3

In this section—

  • “the court ” means—

a

in the case of an appeal to or from the criminal division of the Court of Appeal, that division;

b

in the case of an appeal from a Divisional Court of the Queen’s Bench Division, the Divisional Court; and

c

in the case of an appeal against an order of a magistrates’ court, the Crown Court;

  • F21“criminal investigation” means any process—

    1. i

      for considering whether an offence has been committed;

    2. ii

      for discovering by whom an offence has been committed; or

    3. iii

      as a result of which an offence is alleged to have been committed;

  • “police force ” means any police force maintained by a F13local policing bodyF26. . . and any other body of constables for the time being specified by order made by the Secretary of State for the purposes of this section; and

  • “specified proceedings ” means proceedings which fall within any category for the time being specified by order made by the Attorney General for the purposes of this section.

F173A

In this section a reference to the Revenue and Customs is a reference to—

a

the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;

b

an officer of Revenue and Customs; or

c

a person acting on behalf of the Commissioners or an officer of Revenue and Customs.

4

The power to make orders under subsection (3) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.